


The Corrupt and the Corrupted

by Hollywood_Recycle_Bin



Series: The Game Verse [3]
Category: Gossip Girl
Genre: Angst, Blackmail, Dubious Consent, Episode Related, M/M, Mind Games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-05-22
Updated: 2009-05-22
Packaged: 2017-11-01 16:49:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/359098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollywood_Recycle_Bin/pseuds/Hollywood_Recycle_Bin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan finds a way to retaliate against Chuck... but at what price?  Spoilers for 'There Might be Blood' and 'Bonfire of the Vanity'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Corrupt and the Corrupted

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my three wonderful beta readers: Author07 (who checked my grammar and language), Teri (who checks for sexiness) and novak_fan who checks my characterization.

The water poured down on Dan. The heated rain turning his skin red as it tried to wash away the stain of Chuck on his body. Won’t work of course, he’d tried that before, ever since that first time. But no matter how many times he washed he never got the feel of Chuck off his skin. It was like Chuck was seared there, marked somewhere deep inside of him and every time they were together…

 

He got in even deeper.

 

The messed up thing was, he actually didn’t mind sometimes – having Chuck there. Sometimes it could even resemble something that he might have categorized as, kind of nice.

 

God, he needs to have his head examined. Or maybe his dick. It’s not entirely impossible that he caught something from Chuck and it was already working its way at destroying his brain.

 

Or maybe Chuck Bass was a sexually transmitted disease in itself.

 

It might explain a lot.

 

Either way, tonight really wasn’t one of those nights where it was nice. It wasn’t even one of those nights where it was remotely ok. Tonight, he just wanted Chuck off him; away from him; that mark he left behind buried somewhere so deep and far away even he can’t find it anymore. Tonight he just wanted it to be over.

 

Tonight he wanted out.

 

He touched his neck softly, tracing the bruises left there. It was a little sore but that didn’t bother him as much as the marks did; the very visible evidence of Chuck’s ownership of him.

 

His eyes got wetter. He pretended it was from the shower as he washed the come out of his ass. He’d gotten used to doing that too. He remembered, at the start, the shame he felt when he had to do that. He’d forgotten when it’d stopped.

 

He really is Chuck’s whore.

 

***

 

The Upper East Side and drama. They come together like fire and smoke, and for the millionth time in his life Dan wondered if he’d be better off studying somewhere a little less prestigious and a little more sane.

 

He hadn’t seen Chuck for the past couple of days (in fact, no one had, not that he’s worried or anything) but the marks on his neck still hadn’t faded. The scarf was almost permanently on his neck now, but at this moment in time he had more pressing issues than Chuck Bass.

 

Like the fact that his sister was getting herself into more trouble than she can handle...again. And no one was picking up their damn phones!

 

He went over to his computer and checked Gossip Girl. The site may have been the bane of his existence for the past year and half but it was at least always updated. If Jenny did anything catastrophic, pretty much all of New York would know about it in about 30 seconds.

 

“What?”

 

He stared at the latest update. There, under E-blast #713, Nate with his mouth on Jenny, her hand hands resting on his neck. Underneath, Gossip Girl echoed his thoughts.

 

“How long has this been going on?”

 

***

 

“Dan hey”, Nate greeted him casually, looking like a blue eyed James Bond in his tux and that smile. Dan didn’t hold anything back as he launched himself against him, pushing him hard against the wall with a satisfying thump.

 

He ignored the familiarity of the scene.

 

“We took you into our house Nate!” He yelled. “We trusted you! How dare you?”

 

“Look Dan, it’s not like I planned on it alright?” Nate said as he shrugged Dan off. “Things just happened! I’m sorry I didn’t tell you but people fall for each other! And we’re two years apart, it’s not like I’m some creepy old perv.”

 

“No,” Dan said with a sneer; stepping back into Nate’s personal space. “You’re just a whore. And I don’t want a whore around my little sister.”

 

The words were quietly and slowly spoken but the anger in them was undeniable. The words were measured, cut perfectly for the purpose of hurting someone.

 

Again, it was familiar. Too familiar and Dan tried his hardest not to think about it; focusing instead on Nate; on the pretty eyes that widen in shock at the words; at the “o” shape of his mouth as he gaped at Dan’s cruelty.

 

It only took a few seconds for Nate to recover though; his blue eyes turning cold as he turned the accusation around.

 

“Big talk, considering who, you’re sleeping with,” he throws back.

 

Dan reeled.

 

“How did you..?”

 

Nate didn’t answer him. Instead he stepped closer to Dan, eyes unreadable as he took Dan’s expensive scarf in his hand. A shudder ran through him and he took a step away; Nate’s hand still holding the soft material as it slipped off his neck.

 

There was a gasp. The scarf discarded on the floor, as Nate’s gaze met his pale, naked and bruised neck. He didn’t have to see a mirror to be reminded of how ugly it looked; how obvious the dark colours were; like spilt water colours on a wet canvas.

 

He grabbed the offending material off the floor and put it back around his neck. Not that it really mattered.

 

He’s completely marked as Chuck’s property now; with or without the scarf.

 

“Dan,” Nate’s voice softened, anger melting away as he approached Dan like he was a frightened deer, “Is he hurting you?”

 

Dan made the mistake of looking at Nate for a split second and flinched. He gritted his teeth at the pity he saw there, laced into Nate’s words, and shining in those damnable blue eyes. The pity radiating from him sat heavily in Dan’s stomach, made him feel sicker than anything Chuck ever did.

 

“None of your business Nathaniel.” he said with spite before pulling himself together, back straightening. “Just get the hell out of my home.”

 

***

 

Middle of the night.

 

It was supposed to be dark but with the curtains open, the lights glittered from outside Dan’s window. Bright lights from the city that never sleeps.

 

Not even in Brooklyn.

 

The lights outside wasn’t the only source of light in the room though; no, tonight there was also light coming from Dan’s computer, from the bright white screen as it rapidly began to fill with tiny black text.

 

Dan didn’t care what time it was tonight. It may not have been a school night but that doesn’t mean he won’t be dead on his feet the next day. Still, he didn’t care, he was certain he wouldn’t be able to sleep right now anyway, not with all that he felt inside him, dark and twisted and more fucked up than he ever thought he was capable of feeling.

 

Charlie Trout filled his mind. The sinister glint of his eyes, the deviousness of his smile; his touch, his life, the way his hands gripped the glass of scotch, the lost look on his face when he told him about his father. Everything he felt about him he poured into the screen, all the hate, all the anger, all the pain, all the helplessness and a whole lot of ‘something else’ he didn’t dare to name.

 

He didn’t think he’d ever been this angry before in his life, this confused; everything just swirled inside him. He wasn’t even sure what he was writing anymore.

 

He cut out the details of his sex life with Chuck. He really didn’t want Shapiro reading about it. Or anyone for that matter. It was bad enough that Nate knew.

 

The look on Nate’s face flashed in his mind again. He pushed it out of the way and told himself he was fine. That he may be messed up right now, but it’s nothing he can’t handle.

 

As he clicks send on his email, he thinks maybe Chuck is wrong about him being a good liar.

 

***

 

Chuck couldn’t sleep tonight. 

 

That fact alone was of course, nothing new. Chuck had never been one to enjoy sleep at night anyway, preferring instead, to leave that to the early hours of the morning if possible.

 

For him, night was usually the best time to be awake, time when most of the decent, ‘wholesome’ people pack up and go home and leave the rest of the damn world alone. Time when people like him could rise under the cover of darkness and the lure of its beautifully twinkling lights. He never faired quite as well in the harsh light of day as he did during its darker counterpart.

 

This night was different.

 

Or to be honest, it’s been different for a couple of nights now.

 

Of course, it’d be very easy for him to simply blame his recent back injury for his reluctance to leave his room. Holding up the weight of another man’s body, one that was roughly the same size as his own, without the use of his hands (which had instead been used to strangle the guy) was, in retrospect, not the best position for rough sex.

 

Don’t get him wrong, he’s done it in much more complicated positions before, and had even worse injuries from them, he is Chuck Bass after all, but still, none of those times ever involved Dan Humphrey and there was no way he would ever let Dan Humphrey know that he got hurt having sex with him.

 

If he was honest with himself though, he knew that wasn’t the entire reason he was reluctant to go out anywhere.

 

Dan’s face haunted him again.

 

The defeat he saw there in lost brown eyes.

 

It was frustrating, having that memory looping inside his head. After all, the entire purpose of this game had been just that. Defeating Humphrey, that was his goal. It’s what they do, a part of the cruel but intoxicating game they play with each other.

 

It really shouldn’t bother him this much that one of them had lost.

 

Especially when that ‘one’ isn’t himself.

 

What the hell was wrong with him? He wasn’t Dan fucking Humphrey! Chuck Bass doesn’t feel guilt! Not over this. It wasn’t like Humphrey mattered to him. He doesn’t! He’s just a toy. A toy he owns and can break if he wants to.

 

It’s just; maybe he didn’t want to break Dan as much as he thought he wanted to.

 

Sighing in frustration, Chuck shifted on his bed again.

 

He wondered if it was possible that Dan might be the one corrupting him instead of the other way around.

***

“It’s not really fiction though, is it?” the grey haired man said with a smile on his face.

 

James Wolf, the senior editor of New York Magazine, had a traditionally “fatherly” look about him, with his kind eyes and laugh lines; you would expect him to be the kind of man who tries to make time, both for his work and his family.

 

A part of Dan thinks that look probably worked in his favour more than a few times in the field. Another part of him wondered when he himself had become so suspicious of other people.

 

“I told James that Trout’s character is based on Chuck Bass, son of Bartholomew.” Shapiro started with smile that tugged at Dan’s suspicion.

 

“It’s the 20th anniversary of Bass Industries.” James added. “We want to do an expose on the man behind the company.”

 

“You dated the step daughter. You know the son...” Shapiro said finally, and then Dan knew exactly what was going on.

 

Dan smiled at that. He was right to be suspicious after all. Now that Shapiro thought he was in Dan’s good graces again, he wouldn’t hesitate to use Dan’s awkward position within the Upper East Side world to his advantage.

 

“I’m not exactly the under cover type.” He replied. He may want to bring down Chuck Bass but he wasn’t going to risk the wrath of his father to do it. The man did, raise Chuck after all.

 

Not to mention the fact he was sleeping with Chuck (whether by choice or not) which could be considered a ‘conflict of interest.’ Still, he really wasn’t going to tell anyone that.

 

“If you’re afraid of the man’s wrath, we won’t print your name. But if your reporting is as good as your fiction, I’ll assign you another piece.”

 

Another piece.

 

Dan Humphrey, teen reporter. It wasn’t an entirely unattractive idea. Still, he has more pressing issues to think about, like the fact that Chuck Bass owns him, and it really wouldn’t do him any good to piss him off...

 

He thought back to the days before, the soft hands that hurt him. The malice in those dark eyes. The bruise on his neck. Nate’s face as he stared at them. His pity.

 

The anger ignited inside him again; the same mad fury that fueled his story last night. Ever since he got into St. Jude’s, even when he was living in the shadows, he stood tall.

 

No matter how much they look down on him, he never let them get the better of him, not once had he ever been afraid of those rich bastards that rule the school, no matter how powerful their families were, and even after Chuck bought him, he still didn’t take it lying down (figuratively speaking of course) even if he was playing right into Chuck’s hands.

 

Was he really going to stop fight now? Has Chuck really chocked the fight out of him?

 

“You just grew a pair Humphrey. Don’t lose them now.” Shapiro egged him on. He turned to look at the white haired man, his anger changing directions. Bastard! Did he really think he could manipulate and use him? Well, he was done being used.

 

“You know, Bart Bass isn’t an idiot, Mr. Wolf. If I milk him for information and you print it, he’s going to know it came from me… If I’m going to risk my neck and go up against the wrath of Bart Bass, I’m going to need a little more than just the prestige of having one story printed without my name on it.”

 

Shapiro laughed at that, a look of almost prideful amusement on his face. “You really did grow yourself a pair, didn’t you Humphrey?”

 

Dan gave him a sharp smile, the one Chuck Bass usually gives before going in for the kill. Briefly, he wondered if the smile looked out of place on him, or if his time spent with Chuck had changed him so much that it fitted him perfectly.

 

“Here’s the deal.” Dan said, getting straight to the point. “I will give you an expose on Bart Bass, if you give me another story.”

 

“What’s the story?”

 

“How about a piece on prestigious schools and how they really function. Like for example, how one rich student might be able to manipulate board members into dropped the scholarship status of another student?”

 

“Do you have proof of that?”

 

“No. But that’s where you come in doesn’t it? A story for a story? I help you bring down Bart Bass and you will help me bring down the school that hopefully only almost ruined my future. Now. Do we have a deal?”

 

***

 

Overall it was a lot easier than he thought, getting into Bass Industries. Hell, even getting the CEO of it to start spending time with him on a weekly basis was almost too easy (even if he did have to say all those things about his dad). He wondered why though, after all, didn’t Chuck say that Bart was like him, only “older and meaner”?

 

And yet, here he was, letting a high school student with no business connections whatsoever, tag along with him twice every week. He had no doubt that what Chuck said about his father and how he treated him was true but...was he only that way towards his only son?

 

No, that can’t be right; Dan’s heard a lot about Bart Bass from other sources as well and they all pretty much say the same thing. Which brought up a very unnerving question; why was he being so nice to Dan?

 

“Anything for a friend of Serena’s.” Was what he said. Maybe he was trying to win his step children over, Dan thought as he tried to put it out of his mind. Paranoia and journalism was not something that went together well after all.

 

“Well again, thank you for your time,” Dan said as he got up, mind already working on ways to get closer to the man when the man himself gave him an opening.

 

“Do you like hockey?” he said and Dan’s suspicion was roused again.

 

“Umm, sure yeah.”

 

“I was thinking I could give you a business primer over a Ranger game Tuesday night.” the man proposed casually. Bart Bass was really going all out to be nice to him.

 

Unnerving indeed, Dan thought as he turned around and came face to face with an irritated Chuck Bass.

 

“I came by to have Robert clear your schedule for the game,” cold brown eyes turned to Dan. “Apparently you already have a date. What are you doing here?”

 

Dan’s fingers toyed with the edge of his scarf, a nervous habit he’d somehow picked up without realizing but he didn’t let the emotions show on his face as he looked Chuck straight in the eye.

 

“I’m newly interested in the construction business. I thought your dad could show me the ropes.”

 

Chuck didn’t believe him for one second, that much Dan could tell. He didn’t say anything outright though, just gave Dan a look that said he knew Dan was up to something and that they’d talk about it later. He then turned his attention to his father, and the temperature in the room dropped by about 50 degrees.

 

As the tension rose between father and son, Dan awkwardly excused himself from the room and left the two Basses to their own issues.

 

***

 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing Humphrey?” Chuck spat as he pulled him into the room, rage blazing in his eyes. There was a hint of uncertainty there too; hidden away along with what Dan thought might be fear.

 

Dan blinked owlishly and gave Chuck his best ‘innocent’ puppy eyes but the effect was ruined by the devious smile he couldn’t seem to keep off his face.

 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Chuck.”

 

“Don’t play coy with me Daniel!” he pulled Dan up against him by his shirt, his grip hard enough to almost tear it. “What are you doing with my father?”

 

Dan’s smile remained on his face as he gave the same answer he gave before, about the construction business and new opportunities, exploring his options and expanding his horizon and whatever else he made up then.

 

He wasn’t paying much attention to what he was saying this time though, no, he almost couldn’t because Chuck’s body was so hot against him, could feel the way it almost shook with untamable anger. He couldn’t help but watch as the small hairs on Chuck’s neck moved when his voice touched it, taking in the sense of victory at having Chuck so unraveled.

 

Sensing Dan’s incoming victory, Chuck pulled Dan’s face to his, a harsh grip that turned into a caress.

 

“Exploring your options, Daniel? Is that your way of saying you want to try a different Bass? Because I really don’t think you’re my father’s type... But then again, you can be very persuasive.” He ran his hand down to Dan’s neck, fingers moving over the scarf.

 

“Maybe he’ll make an exception for you.” He whispered before slipping it off Dan’s neck and licking at the fading marks he left there.

 

“Whore.”

 

Dan grimaced at the touch, body stiffening at the reminder. A chill went down his spine but it only served to fuel his determination.

 

He will bring Chuck Bass down. Him and everything around him.

 

For now though, they’re playing a different game, one he’s become quite familiar with.

 

“You know, you really are quite pathetic, Charles.” Dan mocked.

 

Chuck merely raised an eyebrow at his comment, accepting the challenge.

 

“I mean, for all your smarmy insinuations, anyone can tell what you’re really thinking. What you really fear.”

 

“Oh? And what might that be, Daniel?”

 

“That your father would rather have me as a son than you.”

 

It was a risky move; saying it out loud like that, it lacked the subtly of most of the mind games they played with each other but he knew he was already in dangerous territory the moment he involved Bart Bass in their game so he might as well use every move he’s got.

 

Besides, they both know what he said was true.

 

Chuck’s smirk hid the emotions that whirled inside him. Dan’s taunt hit a sore spot but he’ll be damned if he let himself be baited that easily. He knew better than that. He’d been playing this game a lot longer than Dan had.

 

“Do you really think that my father would look twice at you if you weren’t so friendly with Serena, Daniel? You’re only a way for him to get in the good graces of his new step children and his new wife. My father would never waste time with someone like you otherwise.”

 

“Someone like me?” Dan asked casually.

 

“A phony. A leech. A wannabe... A whore.” He kept his tone just as casual, listing off the words like he would a shopping list.

 

Dan didn’t even flinch this time, just kept on looking at Chuck, straight in the eye, mocking him.

 

“That’s funny. Cause from what I remember, it was me he chose to go to the Ranger game with. Seems to me like Bart Bass’ already chosen a favourite.” He moved mouth to Chuck’s ear and gave it a playful bite. “And it sure as hell isn’t you.”

 

Before Dan realized it, he was up against the wall; Chuck’s body covering him. A position he’d gotten quite familiar with.

 

Score: Dan 1, Chuck 0, Dan thought as Chuck let his emotions take control; the anger in his eyes making them seem even darker that before.

 

They stared at each other. Dan’s eyes mocking, taunting Chuck again even as they betrayed him; letting out the flashes of anger, of pain that Dan has been trying so hard to hide. As words escaped them, escaped the intensity of the moment, Chuck reached for Dan and pulled them both into more familiar territory.

 

His mouth.

 

There was biting and clawing and Dan could taste his blood on Chuck’s tongue. Hands grabbing and ripping at the clothes that got in the way. Dan didn’t let Chuck do what he wanted to him this time though, he didn’t acquiesce to Chuck’s demands and play his passive aggressive mind games as Chuck used him, instead he was clawing at him right back, leaving red marks over pale skin, his mouth sucking and leaving bruises of his own.

 

After a while, Dan remembered that he was still up against the wall, a position he didn’t care to be in. He pushed Chuck off but without dislodging himself from him. There were sounds of objects, knocked over and crashing around them as they both ended up tangled on the floor. Neither one noticing anything else around them as their world became reduced to this, to the need, the anger, the lust.

 

Dan was straddling Chuck now, feeling his hardness against him. He rubbed himself against it, not bothering with the mercy of releasing it from the confines of the now very tight slacks.

 

Instead he turned his attention to the bare chest before him, fingers playfully pulling at the dark hair there. There was something strangely enjoyable about pulling another man’s chest hair, Dan decided as mouth found the sensitive spot on Chuck’s collar bone, enjoying the feel of Chuck’s body pressing up against him, almost writhing but trying to keep himself under control, even as his hands tightened its hold on his body, nails digging in. There’d be a lot more marks on him soon.

 

This time, he didn’t care. He’s leaving his own marks after all. And with that thought in mind, he moved his mouth down Chuck’s body, leaving a trail of saliva and bite marks before reaching his target.

 

Slowly, he gave Chuck’s dark pink nipple a lick before his mouth closed over them; his eyes gleaming dangerously as he did so; hands moving up to play with its partner, pinching and caressing them until they hardened. Then, without his eyes ever leaving Chuck’s, he bit down. Hard.

 

“God dammit!” Chuck swore as he bucked against Dan, but Dan didn’t let go. Instead he took hold of Chuck’s wrists and pinned them down on his side. He continued torturing the dark nubs until he felt the blood on his tongue. He lapped at it. Feel a thrill inside him as he tasted the taste of control.

 

Of pure unadulterated power.

 

As Dan licked at the wounds he inflicted on the body beneath him though, he noticed something strange happen. Something different.

 

It wasn’t something tangible that he could fully describe with carefully crafted words, but it was there all the same. There, in the way Chuck’s eyes softened as he looked up at him, unguarded, for the very first time; there, in the way his body gave the slightest sign of relaxing against him, his mouth slightly opened as if forming words he can’t speak.

 

They ended up staring at each other again, but not like before, like some twisted staring contest. It wasn’t a challenge this time and Dan found himself strangely mesmerized, unable to move, unable to continue; frozen by the devious dark eyes that changed so much before him in a single instance.

 

Dan thought he knew Chuck Bass by now, knew all of his twists and turns, all the deep dark corners and crevices, all the impossible loops, knew his games and tricks, all the buttons he could push but he didn’t know this.

 

He didn’t know the Chuck Bass that laid himself out before him now, open like a book to be read yet more mysterious than ever; the spectrum of emotions playing across his face, the sadness there, the confusion, regret and what he thinks might be guilt but also something else, something he can’t quite figure out.

 

A loud thud brought them both back to reality. The sound of shopping bags, dropped to the floor.

 

A gasp.

 

Dan looked away from Chuck, away from that too long moment, or too short eternity, and saw the spiked heels of brown leather boots.

 

He looked up.

 

“Serena!” Breathe. “You’re home early.”

 

***

“So...” Dan started with a tremendous amount of awkwardness.

 

“So...” Serena echoed, voice sounding vaguely lifeless. She was still too surprised to find actual words as she stared at her ex boyfriend/new bff. He was shifting nervously on the coach opposite her, hands fidgeting, trying vainly to cover up the marks that were scattered all over his skin with a torn shirt.

 

Chuck on the other hand was unashamed – as usual. All traces of whatever it was that was there only a moment ago was gone, replaced by the usual smirk that was plastered on his face as he slithered onto the coach next to Dan; arm draping over him in a gesture that was both taunting and possessive.

 

“So...” he mocked them. That single syllable sounding dirtier than Dan ever heard it.

 

Silence.

 

“Someone should say something,” Dan said, almost to himself.

 

Smiling smarmily, Chuck leaned in even closer to the nervous brunette and whispered something in his ear. Serena didn’t hear the exact words but she didn’t really have to. Judging from the way Dan’s lips thinned into a tight line and the tenseness of his body, Serena knew it was something she’d really be better off not knowing.

 

“Shouldn’t you go put something on that?” she said finally, gesturing to the droplets of blood on Chuck’s left nipple. It had left small but noticeable stains on his shirt.

 

“I’ll live.” Chuck replied, making her attempt at ridding the room of his ‘disagreeable’ presence, in vain. The only thing her comment seemed to have done was make Dan blush spectacularly as he tried to discreetly lick what was left of the blood off his lips.

 

Chuck ended up doing that for him though. For some reason, Dan didn’t protest, even as his body stiffened against it, the tension showing in every muscle.

 

Serena watched as Chuck put on a show for her, his tongue sliding over Dan’s bruised red lips. But what interested her wasn’t Chuck though; she was used to her step brother’s antics by now; instead all of her attention was focused on Dan; on the look on his face when he let Chuck touch him, the glimmer of something different, something dark and almost vengeful, something she’d never seen on him before.

 

It worried her. She didn’t get why, one minute it looked like she’d intruded on lovers having a private moment, and the next like... Well like Chuck was molesting Dan and Dan was about to run into the kitchen, grab a big knife and cut him up into little pieces for it.

 

And the other pieces of the puzzle weren’t any less confounding. Looking at the state of the living room, Serena couldn’t tell if the two of them had been throwing stuff at each other, or throwing each other at stuff. One thing she could tell though was that Dan gave as good as he got.

 

Chuck didn’t force himself on him. In fact if she remembered correctly, when she found them, Dan was the one on top. And yet here he is now, acting like the hands that grazed over his skin were acid; the tongue in his mouth, torturing him.

 

Of course, they were _Chuck and Dan_. Serena had never known two people who held so much contempt and disgust for each other as they did. The fact that these two were coming together at all was probably a sign of the apocalypse.

 

Still, Dan was her friend now, and she cared about him a lot, and he looked like he needed rescuing. Desperately. And in more ways than one.

 

“Chuck, don’t you have some poor unsuspecting girl to molest somewhere?” Serena tried again. She really needed to get Chuck out and away from Dan. There was no way she could get Dan to open up to her with the master of distraction and discomfort around.

 

“Why would I go somewhere else for that? I got one right here,” he gave Dan’s thigh a squeeze. “Well, more or less.”

 

Dan rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything. Apparently Serena was going to have to try and get rid of Chuck on her own.

 

She tried a different approach.

 

“Chuck,” she said, voice softening as she looked at him, “Me and Dan are going to talk about our feelings; the non-sexual, emotional kind. Would you like to join us?”

 

Chuck’s hands stopped moving on Dan’s body. There was the slightest twitch on his face.

 

Serena tried not to smile.

 

“Or you know, before we do that I also bought some DVDs. We could watch ‘Steel Magnolias’ together. I always loved that movie.” And just to show that she wasn’t bluffing, she pulled the box out of her purse and made her way over to the DVD player.

 

Chuck shot up from his seat.

 

“I think I should go,” he said, giving Serena an annoyed look. It was one that said ‘I know exactly what you’re doing, even if it’s working.’ then leaned down to face Dan again and gave him a soft, slow kiss.

 

“See you later... _honey_ ,” he mocked one last time before leaving the room.

 

As the door clicked shut, Dan and Serena turned to look at each other.

 

Then they burst out laughing.

 

“Oh god! I can’t believe it was that easy!” Serena exclaimed between fits giggles.

 

“I know! Steel Magnolias! I can’t believe that’s all it takes to get rid of him! God if only we could bottle that. We could make Chuck repellents!” Dan chipped in.

 

“Oh yeah! We could win a humanitarian award for that!” Serena said with her arms wrapped around her stomach, trying to breathe through the hilarity and insanity of the situation.

 

Eventually the laughter died down, and Dan and Serena looked at each other once again, face red and flushed as they both tried to get back their breath.

 

Dan gave Serena a soft smile.

 

“Thanks. I really needed that.”

 

“No problem,” she smiled back, still a little winded.

 

A slightly more comfortable silence descended upon them again before Dan broke it.

 

“So, now that we got Chuck out of the way, let’s hear it then.”

 

“Hear what?”

 

“Oh I don’t know, ‘How could you do this?’, ‘It’s Chuck! Are you out of your mind you sick pervert?’ Something along those lines?” Dan tried to remain nonchalant, but ‘S’ knew him well enough to see how much he wasn’t. The shame had been written all over his face, right along with his anger the moment she stepped into the room and it was there now, written clearly on his face.

 

He was waiting for her judgment. Her disapproval.

 

Well, knowing her history, he should have known by now that she was hardly one to give him that. But still...

 

“Ok, I’ll admit I was a little surprised... Well maybe more than a little. I mean, it’s you Dan. My first boyfriend! The guy who said, sex is like art! And now I see you rolling around on the floor with _Chuck_ of all people.”

 

Serena made a face as she said Chuck’s name like he was something gross that had gotten stuck in her hair. Dan almost smiled at that.

 

“Well for what it’s worth, Chuck would also insist that sex is like art. Just maybe a different kind of art than what I was referring to when I said that.”

 

“Ha ha, very funny,” Serena said dryly before continuing. “But anyway, as much as I don’t understand whatever it is that’s going on between you two, I don’t want you to beat yourself up over it. I mean, despite everything Chuck can be very persuasive when he wants to be and a lot people willingly sleep with him.”

 

Dan gave a short dark laugh at that. It left a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

 

“It was willing, right Dan? I mean, he didn’t force himself on you or anything right?”

 

“No, of course not!” he answered a little too quickly and the bad feeling in her stomach grew.

 

“Because, if he did anything to you-“

 

“I can handle Chuck, Serena” He cut her off.

 

The words did nothing to reassure her.

 

Her face must have given her away because after a moment, Dan’s body stiffened again; that cold darkness returning to his eyes as he stood up from his seat.

 

“I think I should leave now.”

 

And before Serena could say another word, Dan walked out the door.

 

***

 

Dan couldn’t sleep last night.

 

He had tried to all night but he didn’t get a wink; not that that surprised him considering everything that was going on in his head.

 

There were ugly dark circles under his eyes and he wondered if he could get away with wearing sunglasses in the morning without anyone noticing. Knowing the Upper East Siders though, they’d probably all assume he got a black eye from somewhere and he’d really rather not call the attention of Gossip Girl or any of her eyes and ears right now.

 

It wasn’t that he was vain though. He might have been spending a lot time with Chuck but he wasn’t that far gone just yet. He just didn’t want his dad to worry about him, well more than he already is anyway. It wasn’t that he never pulled an all nighters before, but somehow, today, he looked worse than usual and his dad had enough to deal with as it is with everything that was going on with Jenny.

 

Still, dad would probably notice if he was suddenly wearing sunglasses indoors, even if he never did question his sudden attachment to scarves.

 

He wrapped the soft material around his neck again, fingers grazing over it as he looked in the mirror. It’d become a habit, putting it on; the mark of Chuck Bass. Even after everything he still doesn’t stop wearing it. Of course, there were still some marks left on his neck so he’d need something to cover it up. That’s what he told himself anyway.

 

Chuck.

 

His thoughts never seem to stray far from him lately. The way his smiled at him when they’re together, the stream of cruel words that never seem to stop coming from his mouth, the way his eyes looked when Dan had him on the floor. He wondered what game Chuck was playing then, what move he was making in his mind, what twisted ride he’d plan to take Dan on before Serena interrupted him.

 

If it was a move at all...

 

Chuck’s eyes had looked sincere then, sad and vulnerable; like that night they spent together in jail, that night that started it all. But it had to be a move right? Because Chuck Bass doesn’t do that anymore. He doesn’t let his guard down, not with him.

 

Whatever it was, it was gone the moment Serena walked in. Chuck made it perfectly clear then where Dan stood, both to himself and to her, touching him like that. Like he owned him and had a right to do whatever he wanted to him, whenever he wanted it. Not that he hasn’t touched Dan like that before of course; he touched Dan like that all the time. Still, he never did it in front of someone he knew before, never used it to humiliate him like that.

 

It had been bad enough when Nate found out, bad enough that Nate looked at him with those pitying blue eyes like he’s some kind of victim. Now it was Serena’s turn to look at him like that.

 

Well, Dan Humphrey isn’t a victim!

 

And he sure as hell didn’t need their pity. He can take care of Chuck all by himself. Was taking care of him, even. He just had to wait, bide his time until Bart Bass trusted him enough. A man like that had to have some secret he’s hiding. You don’t get that high up to the top without stepping on anything after all.

 

He checked his email again before heading out. There was a new one there, simply titled “About BB”.

 

**Meet me Saturday, corner of Walworth and  
Park, 10 AM. I can tell you something  
about BB you need to know.**

 

The message was unsigned and the email address sounded like it was pornographic junk mail. Still, it made him smile. He was playing a new game with Chuck Bass now.

 

And this time, he’s not going to lose.


End file.
